I'm a little fuzzy on the coding pieces, so will get to that in a bit. Below are my ideas for a quest I'd like to implement.

Title: Mistress Rathra Loves Bugs (Or Does She?)

Inspiration: Years ago I helped on the interior for Tel Ouada, but those files got lost in oblivion before they could be committed. That makes me sad, but no use crying over spilled mods, and it gave me an idea.

Outline:
Mistress Rathra has been acting strange, or more strangely than usual. She is known as a recluse (of course) who doesn't deign to interact with the common folk or their pursuits (of course) and is in general very snotty. Recently however, there are rumors of her wandering around in the wild doing things like digging up bug larva, asking farmers for scrib cabbage, and traipsing through kwama egg mines. All dirty uncomfortable things that Mistress Rathra supposedly wouldn't be caught dead doing.

The player meets an NPC Telvanni <yet to be chosen/made> who wants them to go investigate these rumors so he/she can get a political leg up on Mistress Rathra. Player is sent to a nearby eggmine <yet to be chosen/made>.

The player meets Mistress Rathra there, ranting incoherently about hoarvors. --I'm writing the rest of this assuming hoarvors, like my old Tel Ouada, didn't get in, but please correct if wrong.-- She wants the player to go find her a hoarvor and refuses to talk until the player does.

The player goes back to NPC Telvanni with this information. NPC Telvanni decides to mess with Mistress Rathra's mind, and gives the player a kwama egg. He/she tells the player to tell Mistress Rathra it's a hoarvor egg and there's more where that came from if she can give him/her her backing in a political dispute.

Player goes back to Mistress Rathra. Player can choose to try and trick Mistress Rathra with the egg (Track A), or can choose to fess up (Track B). The trick route makes Mistress Rathra attack the player, because she can tell the difference between hoarvor eggs and kwama eggs, don't cha know. The fessing up route leads to Mistress Rathra being annoyed with the player and mentions something about killing NPC Telvanni for their disrespect, but otherwise nothing happens.

Track A:
If the player kills Mistress Rathra, Player will return to Tel Ouada and find Mistress Rathra is in her tower still very much alive and well, thanks for asking. Unless at a very high like level, she seems to know nothing about what occurred, and tells Player to stop bugging her when asked. Talking to NPC Telvanni will reveal that NPC Telvanni is angry that the player didn't do as told to secure Mistress Rathra's backing. He/she tells Player to go back out to the eggmine to finish the job.

Player returns to the eggmine to find Mistress Rathra gone. Player can choose to follow a breadcrumb trail left that explains the story and eventually suggests the player should confront Mistress Ratha. Either way, the player returns to Mistress Rathra who then explains what all happened. This ends the quest, and Mistress Rathra gives the player a reward for keeping quiet about the whole affair. NPC Telvanni will disappear suspiciously, something about being offed by a political rival.

If the player managed to get out of the eggmine without killing the other Mistress Rathra, a scene between the two Rathras as described in Track B will occur once the player makes it back to Tel Ouada (before or after following the bread crumbs).

Track B:
If the player chooses to fess up, the player will return to town finding NPC Telvanni has suspiciously disappeared--rumor is someone offed him/her in a political dispute. If the player goes to Mistress Rathra, they will find there are two Mistress Rathras arguing with each other! They both seem to think the other is an imposter. They both ask the player to kill the other, which will finish the quest once the player does, and the remaining Rathra will give the player a reward.

Or, if the player refuses to get involved or convinces the Mistress Rathras to find a way to live with each other, some rumors will change around town, and the two Mistress Rathra's will still be in Tel Ouada making faces at each other. They don't give the player a reward because they're too busy being pissed at each other.

What's really going on:
I don't know if time magic is a big part of TES, as Skyrim made it sound like it takes some pretty significant power to be able to pull it off. Assuming it IS possible, though, that's what's hinted to be going on here. An alternate reality Mistress Rathra (like the one in my old Tel Ouada) somehow found her way into this reality, and havoc has ensued as a result.

If time magic is not allowed, then I'll go with this explanation: Mistress Rathra wanted a second self to do all the icky things she'd rather not do, like gathering research, and so created the second Mistress Rathra. (Divyath Fyr probably helped here.) Unfortunately, the new Mistress Rathra had ideas of her own, and is apparently not the most stable, hence the being obsessed with hoarvors. She left to go conduct her own research, and the original Mistress Rathra, predicting a scandal, chose to be tight-lipped about the whole thing, at least until Player came along.

Question I'd like answered

Are Hoarvors present in any fashion in TR? (may be spelled differently, it's been a while)

Is time magic something a Telvanni lord has access to? Or should I go with the cloned Rathra story?

Hoarvors are native to Valenwood, so will not appear in TR. Telvanni lords might have access to time magic, but wouldn't really have any reason to use it I can think of. Time travel in TES is god-level, and even then generally very crude. It mostly involves smashing time to pieces and then trying to make the best out of the ensuing chaos until time fixes itself into a new chronology. Some have managed to break time with more surgical precision, (the Red Moment was a fairly clean cut, in which Nerevar's murderers, friends and advisors ceasing to be leaving only the eternal Tribunal, though even that was done imperfectly and required Lorkhan's heart, the highest level Dwemer magicraft and Sotha Sil's deep study; the Disappearance of the Dwarves was much cleaner, though nobody knows if it was ultimately successful; and possibly the Redguards wiping out the Left-Handed Elves and removing the Pankratosword from the realm of possibility, which seem to have been done very cleanly), but the amount that can be done with it is still limited.
For the sort of things a Telvanni would want to achieve with magic, I'd assume there would be far more precise and economical alternatives. In this particular case, just mind-controlling someone or something would probably do the trick; Telvanni would probably be able to turn people into permanent mind-slaves. Or, of course, they could just have their Mouths tell newbies to do the chores, which would require even less effort.

As far as actually being used in the mod, the quest idea is probably going to be too different from how we will end up portraying House Telvanni. If you just want to use the quest idea for a quest showcase, (keeping in mind that you only need to make a showcase for implementing quests, not writing them), though, it seems like it would be an interesting showcase quest.
_________________"The "drunks" are hopefully leading the "sober" in the right direction. They're just not heading there in a straight line...." - Kovacius

Hoarvors are native to Valenwood, so will not appear in TR. Telvanni lords might have access to time magic, but wouldn't really have any reason to use it I can think of. Time travel in TES is god-level, and even then generally very crude. It mostly involves smashing time to pieces and then trying to make the best out of the ensuing chaos until time fixes itself into a new chronology. Some have managed to break time with more surgical precision, (the Red Moment was a fairly clean cut, in which Nerevar's murderers, friends and advisors ceasing to be leaving only the eternal Tribunal, though even that was done imperfectly and required Lorkhan's heart, the highest level Dwemer magicraft and Sotha Sil's deep study; the Disappearance of the Dwarves was much cleaner, though nobody knows if it was ultimately successful; and possibly the Redguards wiping out the Left-Handed Elves and removing the Pankratosword from the realm of possibility, which seem to have been done very cleanly), but the amount that can be done with it is still limited.

That's what I thought. So no time travel.

Quote:

For the sort of things a Telvanni would want to achieve with magic, I'd assume there would be far more precise and economical alternatives. In this particular case, just mind-controlling someone or something would probably do the trick; Telvanni would probably be able to turn people into permanent mind-slaves. Or, of course, they could just have their Mouths tell newbies to do the chores, which would require even less effort.

Telvanni, taking the sensible route? In vanilla Morrowind, we had one who banned all males from her tower because she hated them, one who grew himself daughters/consorts out of vats, one who had Imperials build him an entire fort only to grow his tower on top of it--destroying half of it and murdering some of his workers in the basement in the process, and then Therana.

I don't imagine it to be something Telvanni would do habitually, but that's also why it's a quest. <shrug> Yet another Telvanni doing something crazy!

Quote:

As far as actually being used in the mod, the quest idea is probably going to be too different from how we will end up portraying House Telvanni. If you just want to use the quest idea for a quest showcase, (keeping in mind that you only need to make a showcase for implementing quests, not writing them), though, it seems like it would be an interesting showcase quest.

I need to re-learn the coding part, and I'm projecting that'll take me a few weeks. What kinds of quests is TR in need of, if not something like what I wrote here?

As far as writing is concerned, there are two rather different ways you could help. On the one end, familiarizing yourself with the areas being worked on (Old Ebonheart and Indoril-Thirr), and thinking up some thematic misc quests for those areas. (We have quite a few ideas for Old Ebonheart, so maybe focus on areas in Indoril-Thirr).
On the other end, familiarizing yourself with a particular faction (any of the threads in here with [Faction] in the title) and putting some thought into how the faction might look and, eventually, what might be involved in its questline.
We do writing openly, so you can freely contribute to any ongoing quest design. The Imperial Cult [Faction] thread has been seeing some good discussion lately, for example.

Edit: as far as implementing quests is concerned, for a showcase I'd go with a misc quest in the Thirr River Region, as above.
_________________"The "drunks" are hopefully leading the "sober" in the right direction. They're just not heading there in a straight line...." - Kovacius

Alright, I've wandered around and poked at some things in the live Indoril-Thirr region, and here were some ideas I got for quests. Are these more along the lines of what you could use?

**First thing I thought while wandering through here. So. Many. Rocks. Seriously. Is this usual for the new TR zones? There's a ton of them!

So I thought, obviously we need an eccentric rock collector in the area! Perhaps in Vhul or one of the outskirting villages. He gives you some kind of reward for bringing him a piece of ebony, a piece of glass, and a diamond. I'm not sure what the reward would be--he's just a lowly rock collector, and is asking YOU to do it because he doesn't have the money for it himself. If we wanted to be really silly we could reward the player with a piece of ebony called "My Pet Rock"...but something along the lines of enchanted "Miner's Bracers" (+Strength and Endurance on Use?) or a Mining Pick and some cheap gems would probably make more sense.

**Similar to above: House Hlaalu is worried about Indoril gaining an economic advantage by opening up a new glass mine. (It could be Ilvi mine, or it could be some other dungeon.) You're to go scope it out and take a piece of glass as a sample of the quality. The quest giver probably isn't in this region--a quest from one of the Hlaalu quest hubs in their own Mainland region? Nothing really comes of it except angry guards--just a quick fetch quest. Although, if ambitious enough, I suppose we could later stage a hostile take-over of the mine later on by Hlaalu.

**Vhul has a nice Temple. It might make a good place for a minor Temple quest hub. Perhaps something involving helping someone in town make a pilgrimmage to their ancestral tomb? I've always wanted to see those brought a little more into everyday life and not just be looting grounds as far as the player is concerned.

**Vhul's tavern, the Howling Hound, has a spot for a bard to play. This could be a quest similar to the acting quest in Tribunal-Mournhold. You're hired on by another bard who needs a partner in a comedy act. He tells one part of a joke, and you then pick from some red-text options to reply to him. Based on how well you do it, you get some gold, or the Morrowind equivalent of getting tomatoes thrown at you, and possibly get your partner mad at you.

**Indoril quest: the Dwemer technology responsible for irrigating Roa Dyr is malfunctioning. You go there and find there's been some sabotage. (any ideas on the culprit's affiliation?) You need to bring back a dwemer cog for the workers to repair the place, which can be found on the saboteur you track down in Vhul, or any other dwemer ruin in the game. If you figure out who was the saboteur, you get some extra gold as a reward.

**Braler Velev's house is a mess. I'm not sure if this guy has some other quest attached to him, but if not, possible Temple quest. Guy's been causing problems by being a slovenly jerk in public. Does the guy have soul sickness or is he a drunken lout? The player investigates.

Can't seem to post in the Literature section without special permissions, so plopping this here. I imagine it could be a Dunmer fable.

The Pilgrim in Pain

A pilgrim was walking down a rough dirt road. Rocks poked out of the road in irregular intervals. The pilgrim, being tired from his long journey, finally stumbled and stubbed his toes on one.

His toes hurt very badly from being stubbed thus, and the pilgrim came upon a thought. "If I did not have toes, I would not have toes to stub." He looked down at the offending toes. "I'm sorry, but you are causing me pain, and so therefore you must go, so I will no longer be troubled by you." And the pilgrim took out his hunting knife and cut off his toes.

The pilgrim continued on his journey, but he found that without toes it was harder to keep his balance. Soon he stumbled again and fell to the ground. He flung out a hand to catch himself, and the hand was cut on one of the sharp rocks. Wincing, he looked at the blood welling up from his palm.

"If I did not have a hand, I would not have a hand to be cut and bleed," thought the pilgrim. "I'm sorry, hand, but you are causing me pain, and therefore, you must go." So the pilgrim cut off his hand and continued on his way.

The pilgrim continued to walk down the road, which was getting rougher, and he had to slow down to almost a crawl to keep from tripping again. He turned a corner in the road and came upon his wife.

The wife began to rail at him in the way wives do--why were you late for dinner? Why do we no longer go out together? Where is that dress you promised me two months ago? Why are you bleeding?

She ranted and raved so much that the pilgrim closed his eyes in pain. "Wife," he finally said. "You are causing me too much pain, and therefore you will have to go." So he killed his wife, cutting her out of his life, and continued on his way.

As he continued his walk, he found that the combined pain from the missing toes, hand, and wife was becoming unbearable. He was confused, because he couldn't understand why such things were paining him, if they were no longer a part of him.

"It is my heart that feels this pain," he said to himself. "If I did not have a heart, I would no longer feel pain."

"I'm sorry, heart," said the pilgrim, looking down at his chest. "But you are causing me pain, and therefore you must go."

And so the pilrim cut out his heart, and without something to continue pumping his blood, he collapsed and died. And so the pilgrim learned that pain is a necessary part of life.

---

Now some work on the Rathra quest. Dialogue bits--

latest rumors
You didn't hear it from me, but Mistress Rathra's been acting strange. Stranger than usual, that is. But don't ask me about it. Perhaps <NPC Telvanni> knows something more. I've heard him asking after it. You didn't hear that from me, either.

NPC Telvanni greeting
Hello. %PCname , is it? Have you noticed Mistress Rathra has been acting stranger than usual?

stranger than usual
Yes. Now Telvanni act strange on principle, or so most non-Telvanni would inform you. But I've noticed Mistress Rathra has been behaving very odd, even for a Telvanni. I've even heard reports of her traipsing around the countryside.

traipsing around the countryside
Mistress Rathra doesn't care to get dirty. Or talk with the commonfolk. Or even come down out of her tower. But I've heard rumors of her doing all sorts of energetic things lately, from ordering shipments of scrib cabbage directly from farmers, to visiting eggmines, to digging for bug larva. Bug larva! Can you imagine?

bug larva
Yes. I've never traveled much outside of Morrowind myself, but I've been told we have many more species of giant, erm, bugs than most other provinces of Tamriel. Some naturalists have made it their life's study. I can tell you, you'd never catch ME pinning beetles to display cases or rooting around in the insides of a silt strider. Ugh!

visiting eggmines
Yes, I've heard Mistress Rathra has visited several eggmines in the <region name> lately, though only the Tribunal know what she's been doing in them. Actually...would you be amenable to doing a small task for me?
(PC) Yes, I have the time.
--Oh, most excellent. You see, I have heard that Mistress Rathra has been visiting one of the local eggmines, for her "research", or so it was she said. I would like you to find out what it is she's truly up to. Do me a favor and go pay her a visit at <Blahblahblah Egg Mine>, will you? <journal update 1>

(PC) No, sorry, maybe later.
--A pity. Well, do check back if you'd like to make some extra coin. What I have in mind shouldn't be too hard, especially for a famous personage such as yourself. [NPC Telvanni smirks.]

Blahblahblah Egg Mine
Insert directions to egg mine of choice...

journal update 1
Rumor around town has it that Mistress Rathra has been acting rather stranger than usual lately, and doing research on all kinds of bugs. <NPC Telvanni> wants me to go to <Blahblahblah Egg Mine> and see if I can get to the bottom of what's going on.

Mistress Rathra greeting
I was wondering when I would finally meet the proprieter of this place! You there! Show me where you keep the hoarvor eggs immediately!

hoarvor (Mistress Rathra's version)
Are you deaf? I said hoarvor! Not hoarder, horror, hortator or any other of the nonsensical things you commoners come up with. I am in need of some hoarvor eggs at present, but for some reason all their usual nesting grounds have vanished! Quite peculiar...now skedaddle along, %PCname. I need no interruptions! <forced goodbye, journal update 2>

journal update 2
Mistress Rathra says she is looking for hoarvor eggs. I've never heard of a hoarvor before. Perhaps NPC Telvanni can point me in the right direction.

NPC Telvanni 2nd greeting
Ah! %PCname! Most excellent! Have you figured out why you-know-who has been visiting eggmines?

visiting eggmines (updated)
You say she's looking for hoarvors? What on Nirn is a hoarvor?

hoarvor (NPC Telvanni's version)
I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps if you asked one of the other mages in the tower, they could tell you what's going on.

hoarvor (clueless NPC versions)

{disposition 30-40)Hover over? You mean hover over the tower? Well, I don't see why you'd want to, but go ahead, outlander.
(disposition 40-70) Hortator? Are you asking me about Hortators?
(disposition 70+) You'd be better off asking a savant, friend.

hoarvor (savant NPC version, disposition 40+)
Oh, they don’t live around here, so not to worry. They’re a kind of large insect native to Valenwood. They live in colonies, similar to our kwama, but are much more dangerous. Some naturalists claim hoarvors once lived in Morrowind too, but that must have been ages and ages ago. There certainly aren’t any here now, thank the Good Daedra! <journal update 3>

journal update 3
Hoarvors are apparently a species of insect, extinct in Morrowind. I'm not sure why Mistress Rathra would be looking for them, but <NPC Telvanni> is sure to be interested in this information.

hoarvor (NPC Telvanni updated)
I see. Hm. You know, I think I can turn this to my advantage. By which I mean your advantage, as I'm paying you, remember? Now, you take this large kwama egg, and go back to Mistres Rathra. Tell her it is a gift from a benefactor, and there's more where this came from if she gives her benefactors some political backing. <journal update 4>

journal update 4
<NPC Telvanni> has given me a large kwama egg to give to Mistress Rathra. He intends me to trick Mistress Rathra into thinking its a hoarvor egg, so he may use her to obtain some political leverage. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

benefactor (NPC Telvanni version)
That's me, of course. And you, if you know what's good for you. Now get going!

political backing (NPC Telvanni version)
It's really none of your business. I'm sure you understand how these political things work? I wouldn't want to have to educate you..

(PC) No, not yet.
---Well hop to it! How much longer are you going to keep me waiting? <forced goodbye>

(PC) Yes, I have one right here.
---This is not a hoarvor egg! You think I do not know the difference between a kwama and a hoarvor? You shall pay for this insolence! <forced goodbye, Rathra attacks, journal update 5a, journal update 6 if Rathra dies>

(PC) No, I don't think you’ll find any in Morrowind. <NPC Telvanni> was going to trick you by giving you this kwama egg.
---Hoarvors, gone from Morrowind? Ridiculous. And I suppose I should think the same of this line of nonsense about <NPC Telvanni>’s plotting, too! No, no, you don't seem smart enough to lie about that. Hmm… yes. And you did me a good turn by warning me. Very well, outlander, I will spare you this time. But tell me more about this benefactor if you don't wish me to use you as fodder for my new pets. <journal update 5b>

journal update 5a
When I tried to give the large kwama egg to Mistress Rathra, she attacked me. I don't think <NPC Telvanni> will be very happy about this.

journal update 6
I've killed Mistress Rathra. This can't be good.

journal update 5b
I decided not to give the kwama egg to Mistress Rathra. <NPC Telvanni> will not be happy with me, but he was never threatened to be stuck on end of a hoarvor's pincers! Mistress Rathra may give me a reward if I meet her in her tower. She mentioned something about <NPC Telvanni> regretting his plot against her, and I'd rather not be around to see what she does to him.

benefactor (Mistress Rathra version)
<NPC Telvanni>, is it? Well, I have never heard of him before, but now that I have, he will regret it. Please leave, outlander, I have plans to make.

hoarvor (Mistress Rathra)
Surely you have seen them around before? They are very common in this part of Morrowind, very important to the ecosytem. Or they would be, but it seems all their nesting grounds have vanished. I was hoping to create a new colony of them in my dungeon. [Mistress Rathra gets a manic gleam in her eye.] It is unfortunate you have never seen one, outlander. They are so CUTE!

New Mistress Rathra 1st greeting
Who is this imposter I'd like to know? I'll burn the living daylights of the one responsible for this insult! [Mistress Rathra seems too upset to notice me. And I'm not sure I'd want her to while she's in this mood. <forced goodbye, journal update 7 if it hasn't already>

journal update 7
I returned to Tel Ouada to find two Mistress Rathra's arguing with each other! I'm not sure what's going on, but maybe if I can calm them both down I can get to the bottom of this.

Original Mistres Rathra, Calmed greeting (requires Calm spell)
Yes? What is it? As you can see, I'm a mite flustered with this new development.

mite flustered (high disposition)
[Mistress Rathra sighs.] I suppose I owe you an explanation for this drama you've become folded up in. It was a unwise experiment to begin with, but Divyath Fyr desired test subjects outside of his own flesh and blood. I admit, I was rather curious as to the nature of his work, so I permitted him to perform it on me.

own flesh and blood
Divyath Fyr studies corprus, as you may have already heard. He has made some interesting advances in his studies, including growing breathing, thinking individuals out of scraps of his own flesh. I believe he had five "daughters" running around his tower, last I counted. Truly remarkable, if a little unnerving.

unwise experiment
Yes, and now you know the all of it. Divyath Fyr grew me assistants out of my own flesh and blood, the result you see is that one which stands before me. I'm rather put out, to tell you the truth. Too much trouble. Too many gossipers gossiping and plotters plotting. I'd much rather you keep this scandal to yourself.

scandal
I will pay you 1000 gold to destroy the evidence and keep word of this to yourself. And do not worry about this benefactor of yours...I believe he has already been taken care of by a political rival, in fact.<journal update 8a>

journal update 8a
Mistress Rathra says she will pay me to take care of the unwise experiment. I assume she means by killing the other Mistress Rathra. I only hope I don't strike the wrong one by accident! She also informs me not to worry about <NPC Telvanni> anymore. I suppose he got his deserved political backing in the end after all.

journal update 9a
Mistress Rathra is dead. Mistress Rathra is grateful that I killed Mistress Rathra, and now will reward me with gold out of Mistress Rathra's coffers. I frankly have no idea what I just wrote here.

Experiment Mistress Rathra, Calmed greeting (requires Calm spell)
You! YOU! Do you see what has happened here? I have been supplanted! I won't stand for this, I tell you! Not at all!

supplanted
You see the evidence right before your very eyes! Someone has disguised themselves with my glorious flesh and claims rulership of Tel Ouada!

won't stand for this
Kill her! Kill her and I will reward you...what is it you peasants desire? Gold? Fancy clothes? Or perhaps a pet hoarvor larva to keep all on your own? Don't stand there looking blank, JUST DO IT! <journal update 8b>

journal update 8b
I'm still not sure what this is all about, but one of the Mistress Rathras is offering me a reward to kill the other. I'm not sure if she'll reward me or not. She seemed a little out of it.

won't stand for this (upon completion)
Yes, yes! Now rulership of this tower has returned rightfully to me! You have done well, %PCname. For your service, I will grant you your life. Begone. <journal update 9b>

journal update 9b

I have killed one of the Mistress Rathras. I'm not sure which, to be honest. The one left alive rewarded me with my life.

On rocks: Yup. One of the interesting aspects of TR is that there seem to be sorts of artistic styles that develop as the project goes on; a very old one was using very colourful and varied vertex shading, which while creative didn't look good and we've mostly removed. Then, for a while, using our older cliff models -- at the time brand new -- all over the place was in fashion, and, after the effect of 'ooh shiney' wore off, there was a counter-movement of replacing the cliff models with huge lumpy piles of scaled up rocks, to -- in my opinion -- equally dubious results. The rocks everywhere movement is comparably new and agreeable. I think it mostly rose up due to having exterior modders with very well-developed eyes for detail but a criminal lack in new environment assets for our regions.
I think the look works for most of northern Morrowind, whether west or east of Vvardenfell, and certain other regions like Shipal-shin. At latest as we get further south, though, I'm hoping we find alternatives.

I like the comedy act idea, but it will require very good writing not to come off as cringe-worthy. Or equally good writing to come off as cringe-worthy in a good way.

I don't think Dwemer technology should be involved in irrigating the Thirr River Region, and it certainly isn't at the moment.

As far as Vhul quests are concerned, I just realized that they're not currently publicly visible:

Miscellaneous quests for Vhul (http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24672), a small Velothi town in Indoril lands. As such, important themes are the relation between local Velothi and the Temple and local Velothi and the Indoril. This town is home to a tong of swindlers, the Syvvit Tong, and as such relations between local Velothi and outlanders should also be explored.

Here are the quest designs I thought up while working on Vhul. I think three is a pretty good number of quests to go with, though I'm not against having more. Once these designs are either polished or replaced with better ones this can move on to implementation.

Quest 1 - 'Burden of Proof'

Ilvi suspects a House Hlaalu-Syvvit Tong link and asks the player to investigate.
The player will not be able to find any conclusive evidence of such a link, as the link does not actually exist, but the player will manage to dig up some dirt on the Syvvit Tong nonetheless:
a. one of the top members of the ST (the one who lives in Vul #5, formerly 'Othrensis, Seran Draylis' House') regularly pilfers a bit of the Velk brew while 'helping out' at the brewery to enjoy in his hut. Much worse than just theft, by imbibing the drink of nobility he shows a (to Indoril) shocking lack of humility and awareness of his station.
b. other than that, there could be a few random rumours floating about that are nothing more than rumours about the guild and its various members.
c. finally, with some persuasion the player will be able to convince some members of the ST to voluntarily leave the organization.
After his investigations, the player will be able to report back to Ilvi:
1. if the player defends the ST of all wrongdoings, Ilvi will remain unimpressed, leading to a small disposition drop and probably ending the quest. The player either gets no reward or a very paltry one (loose change).
2. the player can also defend the ST, but point out the individual misdeed(s) he has uncovered. Ilvi might apply to the Order of the Inquisition or something to restore faith in Vhul, but will otherwise leave the ST be. The player is decently rewarded for his troubles; maybe a nice Indoril item or something.
3. finally, the player can use the information he has uncovered -- real or imagined -- to paint the ST black. Ilvi will shut it down, effectively removing most of Vul's services, but in return non-Indoril players will gain access to Roa Dyr's services, while Indoril players will get some other nice reward.
4. if the player tries to discredit the ST without any evidence, he will get a minor disposition drop with Ilvi, who will tell him to do his job properly so that Ilvi can pass judgement properly, but otherwise the quest will go on.

The important points of this quest are that only one member of the ST is doing something explicitly demanding reprimand; and that the Syvvit Tong are already guilty of subversion in Ilvi's eyes, but he feels duty-bound as an Indoril to properly weigh the case before rushing to judgement. Ilvi cannot be convinced that the ST is above reproach due to his prejudice, but can be convinced to lay the blame on a part of the organization rather than the whole.

Quest 2 - 'Honns in Luck'

A Nord staying at the local inn, Honns, suspects he is being swindled by the townsfolk. (Which he is). He asks the player to get to the bottom of it.
The player goes around gathering proof, which will probably mostly involve either persuading or giving gifts (such as alcohol) to locals until they admit to their bit of swindling.
After the player gathers all of the/enough of the confessions, he can report back to Honns.
If the player relays the confessions to Honns, Honns will thank the player for being honest with him, and state that he is tired of the attitude of the locals and will head back west. To reward the player's honesty, he will give the player a (say) moonstone, the most valuable item he had brought with him and the only one the locals were unable to swindle off of him. He will disappear from the interior on cell change never to be seen again.
If the player claims that Honns has not been swindled, Honns will get in a huff and accuse the player of being just like the other townsfolk, and will disappear on cell change.
It may also be possible for the player to convince the swindlers to return the things they swindled, probably via the player. This would probably require very high disposition, and will likely get the player the best reward. It would also kind of ruin the reference (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_in_Luck), though.
Given the similarity of premise and general structure of this quest and the first one, but the distinction that the questgiver of the first is Indoril Ilvi while the questgiver for this one is an n'wah, I think the two quests can be played off of each other quite nicely for contrast.

Quest 3 - 'Cleansing of the Temple'

A priest in Vhul's temple will complain to the player about the peddlar who has set up shop within temple grounds. He wants the player to convince the peddlar to leave. (If the player disbanded the Syvvit Tong in Quest 1 this quest will be resolved, and the priest will simply thank the player for getting rid of the troublesome peddlar and give him the reward. Similarly, the player can complete this quest as part of Quest 1).
Other than ratting the ST out to Ilvi, the player can complete this quest by:
1. intimidating the peddlar or outright attacking him. In the latter case the peddlar will flee a certain distance, and then combat will stop and the quest will update.
2. perhaps blackmailing the peddlar in some way.
3. if the player improves the peddlar's disposition past a certain point, the peddlar will agree to stop peddling.
4. finally, the player can preach to the peddlar. (This will probably just involve the player quoting a semi-significant line from a book. Maybe there's a good line in one of TR's saint books?)
The reward will be greater if the priest likes how the player handled the situation. (The solutions are ordered from worst (1) to best (4)). The best reward will include a service discount for that priest (or even that whole temple), or, if the player is not a Temple member, will allow the player to do business with that priest/that temple.

I've fixed the permissions for the Literature forums, thanks for pointing that out.
The only error that stood out to me in the text was that 'in irregular intervals' should read 'at irregular intervals'. The bit at the end about the heart pumping blood did seem a little out of place, though; I'd just say something like 'And so the pilgrim cut out his heart and, from the gaping hole he created, the lifeblood of his body spilled out and he soon collapsed and died'. It's a very nice text that would be right at home in Velothi towns.

The Rathra quest dialogue looks good, though not without quibbles: I'd tend to avoid describing actions '[NPC Telvanni smirks]' wherever possible. They're often superfluous, anyway; players can generally fill in the details from the context. I'd also tend to avoid the expression 'skedaddle' wherever possible, crazy Telvanni being no exception. I don't think virtually anyone would say 'thank the Good Daedra'; for savants, I'd probably go with a simple 'thank the gods', just to be safe. 'Thank the three' would be more the norm for devout Dunmer, but referring to the Tribunal rather than the Anticipations, at least explicitly. I'd tend to avoid indicating the PC's opinions in journal entries, or really anywhere. If the PC has, say, completed the mainquest or has become the leader of a faction, I doubt he'd worry about offing Mistress Rathra. (Depending somewhat on faction, I suppose). Journal entries are generally kept relatively dry in tone so as not to clash with a player's rollplaying. I doubt a (relatively) sane Telvanni would describe herself as 'a mite flustered', even under the influence of a charm spell. I doubt almost any Telvanni would find Fyr having five clone-wife-daughters unnerving.
_________________"The "drunks" are hopefully leading the "sober" in the right direction. They're just not heading there in a straight line...." - Kovacius

The Rathra quest is going a bit slower: I work retail and we've entered the holiday crunch. I'm right now working through the scripting and relearning the editor. Spent most of an evening just getting latest rumors to populate properly with everyone else's editions to Tel Ouada. Aiee.

The journal entries were written with this quest intended to be open to any character, not just the Telvanni, so I was trying to give the impression that, to a non-Telvanni, these events seem pretty crazy. But I see what you mean about not putting thoughts into the character's head. I'll go back over that.

On the Vhul quests--is someone currently working on these? I can do dialogue faster than I can do editing, if that helps the creation process.

I also like the comedy act idea, will see what I can get written.

Dwemer tech--I saw some pump-looking things in the middle of Roa Dyr's garden, and made an assumption. Assumption wrong, quest idea crossed out!

Rocks--I seem to remember way back when when I was active in 2004 was the rock arches every ten feet. Each exterior cell author had included at least one in their claims, and multiply that out by however many claims we had and, well...

My only concern is for those people who run mods with followers, or escort quests. It was hard to walk over/around the rocks in some areas, and I'd be worried at trying to drag a follower through there, too. It looks very nice, though.

Okay, first draft for the comedy act. I haven't written the lead-in yet.

--0 (start)
And for our next performance ladies and gentleman, the Mabrigash of the Thirr River! Come on now, Mabrigash, bow to the audience!

Choice 1
Bow and smile.

Choice 2.
Bow and cackle sinisterly.

Choice 3.
I'm not a mabrigash.

--1 or 2
That's right, that's right! And, of course, in the staring role, yours truly! I am Nilaer Teddlu, and I have heard it be said that there is a mabrigash living on the Thirr river who grants wishes!

Choice 4
Yes, wishes. I can do that. Do you want some drakes?

Choice 5
I will suffer this request, imp. Tell me your wish!

Choice 6
But I'm not a mabrigash.

--3
Hush, just play along. Haven't you done this before? And now, in the starring role, yours truly! I am Nilaer Teddlu, and I have heard it be said that there is a mabrigash living on the Thirr river who grants wishes!

Choice 4
Yes, wishes. I can do that. Do you want some drakes?

Choice 9
I will suffer this request, imp. Tell me your wish!

Choice 6
But I'm not a mabrigash.

--4
Uh, no, no drakes. Just what we need is for some dragons to fly out of legend and torch Vhul here, eh? Er. I will not be fooled by you, Mabrigash! Though you may be cunning and powerful in your Daedric magic, I am the great Nilaer Teddlu. What I wish from you is...a woman!

Choice 7
Seriously? A woman? Isn't that a little cliche?

Choice 8
You have cowed me, Nilaer Teddlu. Here is your woman. You in the audience there, come forward!

Choice 9
Do you have a preference in your women?

--5
I asked for an IMAGINARY woman. I can't afford to pay for extra actors, you know!

Choice 19
Are you saying my magic is only good enough to summon figments of your imagination?

Choice 13
Did you hear that? He's calling your beauty imaginary!

Choice 10
Fine. I summoned an imaginary woman, right over there. Are you happy?

--6
Shhh, yes, of course you are! Easy now, ladies and gents, our mabrigash seems to be trying to fool us with her witchery! But I will not be fooled. I will ask again, mabrigash! Will you grant me wish? And you'd better stick to your lines.

Choice 9
Sorry. I will grant your wish.

--7
Psst! That's not how the script goes! I mean, uh, yes, I want a woman! A nice young girl, with eyes like the rubies of Red Mountain and teeth shining like pearls!

Choice 10
Very well. For you, I have summoned this girl. You said you liked them young.

Choice 11
Your taste is terrible. Now let me say something about women. What you want is one with scales and sharp claws.

Choice 12
Your taste is terrible. Now let me say something about women. What you want is one with golden skin.

--8
What? No! That's not how the script goes! I am not paying for extra actors--you there! Sit down!

Choice 5
But you asked me for a woman, and I made one appear!

Choice 13
Eh, your choice. She is kind of ugly.

--9
Oh, mabrigash, but what I would wish, for a nice young girl, with eyes like the rubies of Red Mountain and teeth shining like pearls!

Choice 10
Very well. For you, I have summoned this girl. You said you liked them young.

Choice 11
Your taste is terrible. Now let me say something about women. What you want is one with green scales and sharp claws.

Choice 12
Your taste is terrible. Now let me say something about women. What you want is one with golden skin.

--10
No, no! She is still swaddled in her baby clothes! No, I want something older, Mabrigash, much older! Grant me my wish!

Choice 14
Then I summon for you this old woman.

--11
What do you think I am, some kind of Argonian? Wait...what did you do!

Choice 17
I summoned a scaley, clawed woman for you. What did you think I did?

Choice 17
I didn't do anything.

--12
What do you think I am, some kind of Altmer? Wait...what did you do!

Choice 17
I summoned a beautiful golden woman. What did you think I did?

Choice 17
I didn't do anything.

--13
Oh, now you did it!

Forced Goodbye. At this point, one of the women from the audience attacks you. Afterward, the bard refuses to speak to you, calling you bad luck.

--14
Oh, she is hideous! An ancient hag! Her skin sags and she is missing all of her teeth!

Choice 15
No she isn't. She keeps a string of them around her neck which shine like pearls, just as you wished for.

Choice 15
Perhaps you should be careful what you wish for, Nilaer.

--15
Oh, ha ha. Very clever, Mabrigash. Let me be clear, you cunning old witch, I wish for a woman, neither old nor young, with good teeth still in her gums, who desires to kiss me all night long!

Choice 16
Oh, very well, Nilaer. I have summoned for you a third woman. Does she meet your specifications?

--16
Oh, Mabrigash! She is more than I ever imagined! Her skin is flawless and her eyes glow, and her teeth...her teeth! You--you have summoned for me a vampire!

Choice 17
You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for! I think she would like to "kiss" your neck, all night long.

--17 (vampire)
No! What have you done? Stay away from me! I said STAY AWAY!

Choice 18
Uh, are you okay?

--18
This isn't an act! Look, behind you!

Forced Goodbye.

--19

SHHH! You do not know what you say! Please, stick to the script so we can both get out of this alive?

Choice 10
Er, okay? I summon for you an IMAGINARY woman, right over there! Are you happy now?

--20
No! What have you done? Stay away from me! I said STAY AWAY!

Summon Clannfear

--21
No! What have you done? Stay away from me! I said STAY AWAY!

Summon Golden Saint

Aftermath
The bard carries an amulet of Summon Scamp. You can find this on his body if killed, or he gives it to you as a reward if you made it up to Choice 17. Assuming he survives, he says this on speaking to him again:

I suppose I must explain what is going on. I've been cursed by Sheogorath. I wished to be a better bard you see, that my awful stories were more real and believable.

--(Player) And like the Mabrigash, he granted your wish in a way you didn't intend.

Yes. I've been forced to tell my story over and over until the Daedra has had his fun. But you have broken his curse, %PCName , and now I can go back to telling my terrible tales. Lucky me, huh? Here, take this. I used to use it in a comedy act, but I'm finding it's a little too real. Almsivi bless, my friend.

Last edited by Kevaar on Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:37 pm; edited 2 times in total

And here's the file for the comedy act. Walk up to Siret Nedyra in the Howling Hound and talk to him to start. This is just the act itself, not the lead-in or aftermath. I also made some minor corrections to the dialogue that I haven't changed in the above post.

Okay, got the bulk of the Rathra quest completed. See attachment. I've got a few scripting issues I'm still working through though. Anyone know how to resolve these?

** Having trouble getting the two Rathra's in the tower to speak with you only after you cast a Calm spell on them. Right now, you just have to talk to them twice so you can progress the quest for testing purposes.

**The imposter Rathras are persistent from the get-go. For a showcase I'm not going to worry about it, but if this quest were to be implemented, it'd make more sense for these NPCs to spawn at the appropriate times in the quest. I'm not sure how to do this.

**Both Rathra's get upset and attack if you try killing one. You can taunt to avoid this, and I've gone ahead and added a special in-character dialogue option to get them to aggro on you safely. Still, it would make MUCH more logical sense if they just didn't care in the first place. Is there a workaround for this?

** Not so much of a bug as an FYI. The impostor Rathra's have had their levels set to 1 so they can be one-hit for testing purposes. (The original TR Rathra is untouched, so watch it if you choose to attack her.) I'm thinking the finished quest should have this value go back up to 45 to match the real Rathra.

Changelog, as compared to earlier post:
--edited the quest journal text to be less suggestive of the player's thoughts
--changed topic "mite flustered" to "a bit preoccupied"
--various dialogue tweaks and edits (only present ingame, didn't edit the post here)
--added topics "wolf spider" and "taunt her" for the purpose of getting either Rathra to aggro on you
--added a Redguard savant to the Magic Mudcrab (bard room) to make that step of the quest possible without running all the way to Firewatch

Finally got a few days off in a row! Retail is back to its normal non-holiday crazy.

Any comments on these before I start poking at the scripting issues? I'm wondering if I'm even remotely headed in the right direction for what you guys would like from your quest devs. Particularly for the bard quest, as that's dependent on the right kind of writing to not come across as facepalm-worthy.

Hm. Well, managed to get one of the Rathra's (mine) to not care about the other Rathra getting stabbed up front of her, so it is possible! Turns out the fix is pretty simple: in the NPC's AI, just set Alarm and Fight both to 0.

But....none of the changes I'm making to TR's version of Rathra are going through, and so she's still happily lighting me on fire when I attack the other Rathra like she asked.

I don't "really" want to mess with TR_Mainland.esm's copy of Mistress Rathra just to fix this, but I'm not sure what else I could do. Possibly disabling TR's Mistress Rathra and spawning a copy of her in her place solely for the showcase?

Yeti
Lead Developer
15 Feb 2009
Location: Minnesota: The Land of 11,842 Lakes

Hello Kevaar

First, I want to offer you an apology for the lack of responses in your showcase thread. We shouldn't have overlooked your updates and questions.

Unfortunately, my scripting skills are practically zilch, making it difficult for me to offer tangible feedback in that direction. For the purposes of a showcase, I wouldn't worry too much about making changes to the Rathra in TR_Mainland. Disabling and cloning her, however, sounds like a reasonable solution to me.

In response to your November 10 post with the dialogue - I should let you know we mostly want to move away from giving the player character elaborate responses beyond simple "yes and no" answers, to keep with the style of the original game. Other than that, your dialogue reads fine to me.

Regarding the number of choices you wrote - in the future I'd like to steer the project towards simpler quests for the sake of making them practical to implement. If it were an official quest proposal for the mod, I probably would have suggested trimming down the number of exchanges a tad.

First, I want to offer you an apology for the lack of responses in your showcase thread. We shouldn't have overlooked your updates and questions.

No worries! I figured most folks were on holiday or busy with other stuff around TR.

Quote:

Unfortunately, my scripting skills are practically zilch, making it difficult for me to offer tangible feedback in that direction. For the purposes of a showcase, I wouldn't worry too much about making changes to the Rathra in TR_Mainland. Disabling and cloning her, however, sounds like a reasonable solution to me.

I'll go ahead and do that for the showcase then. Will have to poke at this particular bug later, as it might make creating other quests for TR difficult if I can't touch anything to do with TR_Mainland.

Quote:

In response to your November 10 post with the dialogue - I should let you know we mostly want to move away from giving the player character elaborate responses beyond simple "yes and no" answers, to keep with the style of the original game. Other than that, your dialogue reads fine to me.

Regarding the number of choices you wrote - in the future I'd like to steer the project towards simpler quests for the sake of making them practical to implement. If it were an official quest proposal for the mod, I probably would have suggested trimming down the number of exchanges a tad.

Yeah, Morrowind doesn't seem to have the long back-and-forth dialogues of some other RPGs. There's a quest in Tribunal's Mournhold that follows this same concept, so I'll take a peek at how involved they made it and see what I can do to trim it to a similar size.

Hokay! Bugs stomped. However, found a bunch more while play-testing. Posting this update for now.

Changelog from previous version:
--copy of TR Rathra made, all quest-related IDs changed to reflect this
--TR's version of Rathra now disables when the quest starts and will never respawn
--the showcase Rathras no longer care if you attack the other. Warning: TR Rathra WILL care if she hasn't been disabled yet.
--Calm spells now affect the Rathras as intended
--the Rathras are made semi-invincible while attacking each other
--quest journal has been updated with a hint about the Calm spell
--the quest journal no longer calls Soludanni eggmine the Blahblahblah eggmine
--added topic Hadran Brelilos to Tel Ouada NPCs, the better to find him with

And bugs, as a note to self. Embarrassing. Fix one thing, break three others apparently...
--typo in journal, Hadran's last name
--directions to eggmine wrong, change southwest to west/northwest
--Jeky wanders
--Experiment Tower Rathra wanders
--Hadran never tells PC to actually pass the kwama egg off as a hoarvor egg
--Mine Rathra doesn't attack, script gives error
--Hadran not disappearing at proper time?
--Hadran greeting order messed up, esp. hoarvors and visiting eggmines
--(minor) wrong egg given to player, should be large kwama egg, not small
--Experiment Tower Rathra gives generic response for hoarvor?
--Rathras not registering each others' death/giving rewards properly
--no breadcrumb to talk to the Rathras in the tower after meeting the one in the mine

Fingers crossed, but that should be all the bugs stomped, and the Rathra quest is now ready for reviewing or whatever you guys do with showcases!

*******

README

******

A few things of note while playing through this quest, in no particular order:

Before the quest starts, all three Rathras appear in Rathra's Chambers. I'm not going to worry about this for a showcase, but it is pretty funny looking.

Once the quest starts, the TR version of Rathra disappears and never respawns. So be extra careful with your save games while testing this quest if you don't want to lose access to TR Rathra and her associated quests!

All showcase Rathras are level 1. If this were a real quest, this imbalance would be corrected, but I'm not going to worry about it for a showcase.

After casting the Calm spell, you will have to speak to the Calmed Rathra QUICKLY or the other will hit her with a fireball and start the fight all over again. Wizard spats, lol...whatcha gonna do? (Talking to either will calm them both down, fortunately.)

***

Bare Bones Walkthrough

1) To begin the quest, talk to Hadran Brelilos in his room at the Magic Mudcrab. Latest rumors can give you a breadcrumb to get to him, but with all the other rumors in the Tel Ouada area, it can take a few tries to find it.

3) Go back to Tel Ouada and talk to Hadran. The fastest way back is to cast Divine Intervention while in the eggmine, then take the boat to Tel Ouada.

4) Talk to Jeky Trilbright, a Redguard in the Magic Mudcrab, about hoarvors. You can also talk to any savant in the game about hoarvors for the update.

5) Talk to Hadran again. Once you get the egg, return to the mine.

6) Talk to Mistress Rathra. Deal with the consequences of your actions. Either Mistress Rathra in the mine or Hadran Brelilos can give you hints of where to go next.

7) Return to Tel Ouada and head up to Mistress Rathra's chambers. Talk to your choice of the Rathras.

8) Either help kill one of the Rathras (long), or cast a Calm spell on one and talk to her again. Decide which one you're going to help, then kill the other.

9) Fetch your reward from the last living Rathra. And you're all done!

***

Changelog

--corrected multiple typos
--corrected instances of journal entries, topics, and greetings not appearing at the right times
--directions to Soludanni Egg Mine corrected
--Jeky and Experiment Tower Rathra no longer pace about the place
--breadcrumbs for continuing the quest after confronting the Rathra in the eggmine have been added
--Rathras register the other Rathra's death and now give rewards

Why is TR making all these changes, updating the website etc if they are unwilling to even respond to showcases (especially questing) in a timely manner? Shouldn't this be an extreme priority for TR? This project can only progress if more people become active, so. Why even bother if people who are waiting to contribute aren't even encouraged and enabled to do so?
_________________my opinion.

Ah, I was under the impression because they have yet to really open up quests for claiming. Most of the claims I see going up are for interiors.

I'm not really innocent, either. I spent a few months on this quest. My excuse is I'm working retail. Now that the holidays are past, I have more time on my hands to put to good use. Just point me in a direction!

*****

Going to fuddle with the bard quest now. Planning stages:

Quest journal updates:

Stage 10 - The bard Sirret Nedyra in the Howling Hound wants my help putting on a play. He's given me a script to study. I should speak with him once I've memorized my lines.

Stage 20 (Finish) - While acting out a play with Sirreth Nedyra, I made the audience angry.

Stage 30 - While we were acting out Sirret's play, a vampire appeared out of nowhere!

Stage 31 - While we were acting out Sirret's play, a clannfear appeared out of nowhere!

Stage 32 - While we were acting out Sirret's play, a golden saint appeared out of nowhere!

Stage 40 (Finish) - Sirret has apparently been under a curse from one of the Daedra lords, in which his stories become reality. My intervention seems to have broken the curse, and he's given me an amulet as a reward.

Bard greeting:
Blessed Tribunal, this is a tough crowd. Ah, hello! %PCname , is it? You wouldn't be open to helping a bard with his act tonight, would you?

helping a bard
Most bards sing. I have a terrible singing voice, so I tell stories instead. Parables and folk tales, you know. I have one all ready to go for tonight, but I need a second actor, if you'd be interested.

1 (helping a bard)
Oh, thank you! This will make things so much easier...here, take this script. It's a rough one, so I don't expect you to follow the lines exactly. Just try to make it comedic, yes? Maybe what these n'wahs need is more levity. Tell me when you're ready to start the show.

Bard greeting (quest stage 35)
It's a good thing you were here. Thanks for helping a bard out.

helping a bard (quest stage 35)
I suppose I must explain what is going on. I've been cursed by Sheogorath. I wished to be a better bard you see, that my awful stories were more real and believable.

Choice 3 - And like the Mabrigash, he granted your wish in a way you didn't intend.

helping a bard (quest stage 35, Choice 3)
Yes. I've been forced to tell my story over and over until the Daedra has had his fun. But you have broken his curse, %PCName , and now I can go back to telling my terrible tales. Lucky me, huh? Here, take this. I used to use it in a comedy act, but I'm finding it's a little too real. Almsivi bless, my friend.

Nilaer Teddlu: I am the great Nilaer Teddlu, and I have heard it be said that there is a mabrigash living on the Thirr River who grants wishes. I have journeyed long and far to reach her, and now she stands before me. Mabrigash! Grant me my wish!

Mabrigash: I will suffer this request, imp. Tell me your wish!

Nilaer Teddlu: Oh, mabrigash, but what I would wish, for a nice young girl, with eyes like the rubies of Red Mountain and teeth shining like pearls!

Mabrigash: Very well. For you, I have summoned this girl. You said you liked them young.

Nilaer Teddlu: No, no! She is still swaddled in her baby clothes! No, I want something older, Mabrigash, much older!

Mabrigash: Then I summon for you this older woman. Are you pleased now?

Nilaer Teddlu: Oh, she is hideous! An ancient hag! Her skin sags and she is missing all of her teeth!

Mabrigash: Perhaps you should be careful what you wish for, Nilaer.

Nilaer Teddlu: Very clever, Mabrigash. Let me be clear, you cunning old witch, I wish for a woman, neither old nor young, with good teeth still in her gums, who desires to kiss me all night long!

Mabrigash: Very well, Nilaer. I have summoned for you a third woman. Does she meet your specifications?

Nilaer Teddlu: Oh, Mabrigash! She is more than I ever imagined! Her skin is flawless and her ruby eyes glow, and her teeth...her teeth! You have summoned for me a vampire!

Mabrigash: I think she would like to "kiss" your neck, all night long. It is just as you wished, after all, and you know what they say about making wishes. Perhaps now, filthy House Dunmer, you will leave me alone!

****

Hard thing is going to be scripting for the monster to appear. Off to the editor!

Last edited by Kevaar on Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:20 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hard thing is going to be scripting for the monster to appear. Off to the editor!

If you need help with the scripting feel free to post your script here in the thread if something isn't working the way you feel it should. I like the layout you have for your quests and the dialogue seems solid enough. Honestly, you're doing quite a lot and that's something I really like to see but just make sure not to overdue it either. A LOT of OE quest claims are going to go up pretty soon for OE, so it'll be great to have another quester on board. Right now we're just waiting on the ideas to be approved for claims.

sasquatch2o wrote:

Why is TR making all these changes, updating the website etc if they are unwilling to even respond to showcases (especially questing) in a timely manner? Shouldn't this be an extreme priority for TR? This project can only progress if more people become active, so. Why even bother if people who are waiting to contribute aren't even encouraged and enabled to do so?

You do realize that there are only 2 maybe 3 people tops that are capable of reviewing a quest showcase these days, right? So it's not as though we're intentionally avoiding this, it's just that the few people that have the knowledge of how quests work have lives outside TR and unfortunately sometimes showcases pass us by.

You're right, we should have looked and responded to this sooner and letting this go unnoticed is unacceptable. However, I do not feel it's not right to chock it up to the fact that we're simply "unwilling."
_________________Not another memory

I like the layout you have for your quests and the dialogue seems solid enough. Honestly, you're doing quite a lot and that's something I really like to see but just make sure not to overdue it either.

Thanks. I've had a lot of time on my hands these past couple of weeks, and can't promise I'll always be doing this much. I'm not sure if this is what you meant by overdoing it; My writing and quests tend to be boisterous. It's my natural style. The vanilla game is quite a bit less so, and I guess the area I'm going to have the most difficulty in is keeping it simpler.

And this being the last day of another three-day weekend, here's the Vhul Comedy Act quest, the bulk of it up and running.

Notes:
**Haven't yet reviewed and trimmed down the play itself. Wanted to get all the scripting working first.

**I noticed vampires aren't a creature in and of themselves, so I made a hunger stand in for now until I can figure out how the CK handles them.

**Also ran into the bug where I can't edit anything from TR_Mainland again: I turned the Nord Honns around to face the bard, only to load it up ingame and find two Honns's standing back to back. I deleted my mod's copy and he's back to normal. I think it's the same bug that I ran into with the TR Rathra.

**There's a lot of furniture in the corner the bard stands in, and I was having trouble jumping over the benches and things to talk to him. I didn't change anything, but if this were to be committed to TR, I'd request a clearer path made to the guy.

Few things I wanna say first before leaving. First, congrats on your progress so far. I like the effort you're putting into this and really respect that.

Also, what I meant by not overdoing it was nothing about having the quest and dialogue detailed, I think it's great you're doing that. I just don't want you to overwork yourself and end up burning out. Just make sure to relax too!

Finally, even though I haven't looked at this latest quest yet, I noticed you mentioned how it's not easy to get to a certain NPC and that things should probably be moved. As a quester, you do have the leeway to move stuff that's in your way if it hinders the player's progress through your quest; you don't need an interior or someone else to fix that, feel free to move things as necessary. Obviously make a log of stuff you move (which you've been doing so I'm not worried about that) and of course don't go overboard, just move/delete whatever needs to. Basically, use common sense and good luck to you _________________Not another memory

You guys should just get rid of showcases. Just who are you trying to keep from working on the mod? It doesn't take more than a year to do an interior. One exterior claim shouldn't take more than a few months. The same three quests are still under review after two years. >>

What a bunch of pretenders. I'm only slightly joking. Seriously though, why don't you guys let everyone work on the mod. You can give them better ideas if you don't like the quest they do. It's not like you guys are doing much work on it anyway.

Plus most of your land has no people in it. Try to add quests so more people will play. Then they might want to make the game. You should use Keevar's quest too.

This is probably a bit of a moot point because these forums will soon be closed, but...

Please don't use my personal showcase for opinions on the general showcase/quest-making process anymore. Those things can be brought up in their own thread, and methinks they'll get more attention if you do so. I'm flattered by the attention, but I also think it detracts from the purpose of my thread here.